The present invention generally relates to chewing gum. More specifically, the present invention relates to chewing gums including aspartame.
It is of course known to prepare chewing gum including a variety of different ingredients. Some of these ingredients are used to add a flavor or sweetness to the chewing gum. One of the difficulties encountered in adding certain ingredients to chewing gum is that they are vulnerable to degradation.
One of the ingredients that has been recently added to chewing gum formulations are high intensity sweeteners. One such high intensity sweetener is aspartame. Aspartame is a sweetener that has been approved for use in food products including chewing gum in the United States and many different countries. One of the difficulties in using aspartame in chewing gum is that it is vulnerable to degradation; upon exposure to moisture, aspartame will degrade.
Another ingredient that may be used in chewing gum products is sodium pyrophosphate. Sodium pyrophosphate provides chewing gum with dental health benefits such as the prevention of soft calculus deposit build-upon on teeth and tooth whitening.
Generally, sodium pyrophosphate containing chewing gums are sugarless. Thus, these gums may desirably include aspartame. However, when chewing gum includes sodium pyrophosphate, the chewing gum has a higher pH causing the aspartame within the gum product to become less stable in the product. Indeed, the greater amount of sodium pyrophosphate used in the formula, the lower the stability of the aspartame in the formula. This results in a chewing gum product wherein the aspartame degrades. Thus, although desirable, such chewing gum products including sodium pyrophosphate and aspartame are very problematic.
The present invention provides improved chewing gums including aspartame and methods of manufacturing same. Pursuant to the present invention, chewing gum compositions including sodium pyrophosphate, are provided that also include encapsulated aspartame. It has been found that by using encapsulated aspartame in gum formulas that contain sodium pyrophosphate, the loss of aspartame during the shelf life of the chewing gum product is virtually eliminated.
To this end, the present invention provides a chewing gum comprising a water insoluble gum base portion and a water soluble portion including sodium pyrophosphate and encapsulated aspartame.
In an embodiment, sodium pyrophosphate comprises approximately 0.1% to about 10% by weight of the chewing gum. In an embodiment, aspartame comprises approximately 0.01% to about 1% by weight of the chewing gum.
In an embodiment, the aspartame is coated with at least one food grade material selected from the group consisting of shellac, Zein, agar, alginate, cellulose derivatives, dextrin, gelatin, modified starch, acacia and maltodextrin.
In an embodiment, the encapsulated aspartame comprises at least 20% coating.
In an embodiment, the moisture level of the chewing gum is not greater than 2%.
In an embodiment, the aspartame is encapsulated by agglomeration.
In an embodiment, the aspartame is encapsulated by coating a food grade material onto the aspartame.
In a further embodiment, a chewing gum is provided that comprises a water insoluble gum base portion and a water soluble portion including at least 0.1% by weight sodium pyrophosphate and at least 0.01% by weight encapsulated aspartame.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a method for producing chewing gum including aspartame and sodium pyrophosphate is provided comprising the steps of encapsulating aspartame and adding to a water insoluble gum base portion, the encapsulated aspartame and sodium pyrophosphate.
In an embodiment, the encapsulated aspartame and sodium pyrophosphate is added to the water insoluble gum base portion with a flavor.
In an embodiment, the step of encapsulating the aspartame is done by coating a food grade material onto the aspartame.
In an embodiment, the step of encapsulating the aspartame is done by agglomerating an agent onto the aspartame.
In an embodiment, the step of encapsulating the aspartame is done by using a two-step process.
In an embodiment, the step of encapsulating the aspartame is done by using a process wherein aspartame is absorbed onto another component.
It is an advantage of the present invention to provide an improved chewing gum formulation.
Another advantage of the present invention is to provide an improved chewing gum formulation including sodium pyrophosphate.
Still further, an advantage to the present invention is to provide an improved chewing gum formulation that is sugarless, and includes sodium pyrophosphate as well as aspartame.
Furthermore, an advantage of the present invention is that it provides improved methods for preparing chewing gum formulations including aspartame.
Moreover, an advantage to the present invention is that it provides chewing gum formulations including aspartame as well as sodium pyrophosphate, wherein the loss of aspartame during the shelf life of the chewing gum product is profoundly decreased.
Additional features and advantages of the present invention are described in, and will be apparent from, the Detailed Description of the Presently Preferred Embodiments and from the FIGUREs.